Clerical collars



(W. J ETIY Dec. 18, 1962"" Filed Sept. 8, 1960 J. C. GLEESON CLERICALCOLLARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 18, 1962 Filed Sept. 8, 1960 J. C. GLEESONCLERICAL COLLARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 #1445770? aawwa. JYG/iaso mam-3,068,486 Patented Dec. 18, 1962 3,068,486 CLERECAL COL-LABS .lohannaChristina Gleeson, 1 Down Street Mews, Piccadilly, London, W. 1, EnglandFiled Sept. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 54,725 Claims priority, applicationIreland Sept. 11, 1959 1 (llaitn. (6!. 2129) This invention relates tocollars of the clerical type, generally known as Roman" collars.

These collars are commonly made of linen, Celluloid or plastic material,folded lengthwise, one or both folds being attachable to the neck-bandof a shirt by means of studs or tabs allowing its detachment for Washingwhen desired, and the outer fold being exposed outside the neckband. Insome cases, the Roman collar is worn with a supporting stock, comprisinga flap portion which fits loosely over the front of the shirt and hasits own neckband upon which the folded collar is fitted; the rear endsof this band are attached by a stud to the neck-band of the shirt overwhich the stock is worn. There is also a type of stock, known as themilitary stock or rabat, having a double neck-band, the folded collarbeing placed over the inner band, while the outer band is dividedcentrally to leave a gap of desired length, allowing the full height ofthe collar to be seen at the front.

The present invention has for its main object to provide a garmenthaving an integral neck band which is formed with two opposedsleeve-like pockets spaced apart from one another into which the ends ofa strip of linen, Celluloid or like material can be inserted, leavingthe middle portion of the strip displayed at the gap between the mouthsof the pockets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a neck band sccurable to agarment, said neck band being formed with a pair of opposed, sleeve-likepockets spaced apart from one another into which the ends of a strip oflinen, Celluloid or like material can be inserted, leaving the middleportion of the strip displayed at the gap between the mouths of thepockets.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appearfrom the following description given with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial front view of the shirt on the neck band of whichthe collar is to be detachably secured, the neck band being shown asunfastened.

FIG. 2 represents the collar to be secured to this band after the latterhas been fastened.

FIG. 3 shows the shirt with its neck band fastened and the collarsecured in place thereon.

FIG. 4 represents the improved collar mounted upon a support attachableto the neck-band of an ordinary shirt.

FIG. 5 is a modification, in which the support comprises two folds madeof stiff material, the collar being fitted between the two folds.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shirt is provided with a neck band 11, theadjacent ends or tabs of which can be fastened together by a button 12engageable conventionally with a button-hole 13 on the respective endsor tabs. The neck band is made of inverted U-section, with its outerportion 14 turned down over the main inner portion of the band, and thelower edge 15 of this outer portion stitched as at 16 to the base of themain portion and to the underlying top edge of the shirt. There are thusprovided two sleeve-like pockets 17 which extend partly around the neck,only the front ends or mouths of the pockets being open. When the shirtis fastened by means of the but-ton 12 and button-hole 13, the mouths ofthe two pockets 17 will face one another, with a gap between them of alength of about one and a half inches, for example.

The collar 18, as shown in FIG. 2, is made of a single curved strip ofstiff but flexible material, having its edges rounded, if desired, andthe surface being impressed with a pattern to simulate linen. The ends19 will be conveniently tapered or rounded to facilitate their insertionin the pockets 17 of the neck band 11; the overall length of the stripmay be for example nine and a half inches. its width or height about oneand three-eighths inches, and the ends 19 being of approximatelysemi-circular shape. To suit a collar of these dimensions, the pockets17 of the neck band will then be about one and a half inches in height,with a gap of about one and a half inches between their adjacent mouthswhen the band is fastened by the button 12.

As seen in FIG. 3, the collar 18, when inserted in the two sleeve-likepockets 17 to approximately equal lengths, will be partially displayedat the gap 20 between the two mouths of the pockets 17, the internallength of each pocket being at least four inches to allow for thereception of the respective end of the strip forming the collar 18.

The collar, though flexible to allow its insertion in place, is made ofsufficient stiffness to retain its curvature and to remain in positionafter insertion, so that there is no need for it to be attached by astud at the front of the shirt; the neck band 11 can therefore befastened by a button and button-hole connection as described, oralternatively by a stud, without need for the usual front collar stud tosecure the collar.

In all cases, the neck band 11 of the shirt may be stiffened in anysuitable manner so that it will retain its curvature prior to insert-ionand will then stand up to the desired height.

In the form of embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the support 21, adapted forattachment as by studs or tabs to an ordinary shirt having a fly-frontwith buttons or like fastenings, comprises two connected folds ofmaterial 2.2, 23, having a gap 24 in the middle of the outer fold 23,which provides two opposed sleeve-like pockets 25, 26, one on each sideof the gap; into the open mouths of these pockets there are inserted theends of a strip 27 made of Celluloid or starched linen, for example,this strip being sufiiciently stiff to hold the support 21 upright andbeing itself curved to suit the shape of the neck-band of the shirt. Thesupport may decrease in depth towards the back, beyond the pockets, thetwo end portions 28 of the support being attachable to the neck-band ofthe shirt by means of a stud, tab or the like.

These rear end port-ions 28 may be adjustable in relation to oneanother, so that the support may be made longer or shorter to make thecollar looser or tighter, this adjustment being provided for example bytwo or more stud-holes on each end, allowing these ends to be fastenedon the back stud with a varying overlap. The front fastening of thesupport may be made by means of a stud engaged in the ends of the shirtneck-band and also engaging with a button-hole in the inner fold 22 ofthe support, or with a tab 2 extending therefrom and formed with abutton-hole 30.

The inserted strip 27 forming the collar and the pockets 25, 26 onopposite sides of the front gap 24 may vary in length according to thedegree of stiffening desired.

In the modification shown in FIG. 5, the support 31, also adapted forattachment to an ordinary shirt or like garment, comprises two folds ofrelatively s'tid material, marked 32, 33, these two folds beingconnected together at the lower edge 34. The inner fold 32 extends forthe whole length of the support, but the outer fold 33 is divided toleave a gap 35 at the front, where the collar strip 36 will be visible,this strip being inserted downwardly between the two folds, and beingretained in place by the stiffness of the support and also by the gripdue to its curvature. As in the previous cases, the middle portion ofthe strip will be clearly visible from the front, between the edges ofthe gap 35 in the outer fold.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to collars forshirts and stocks of standard type, but may be applied to T-shirts,sweaters and like garments. With woven or knitted garments having astand-up neck band, the latter may be formed with pockets to receive theends of the collar. The dimensions mentioned above by way of example mayobviously be varied. The collar strip 18 may be made of Celluloid,plastic or other suitable material; for example linen may be used, ifdesired, being starched or otherwise stiffened to maintain its shape.

What I claim is:

A garment having a fly type front, the garment being provided with afree edge defining a circular opening at the upper central portionthereof, said fly type front comprising overlapping edge portions of thegarment securable together by releasable means and terminating at thefront of said opening, a circular neck band of inverted U-shaped crosssection and formed of one integral piece of woven material, said neckband comprising an outer strip and an inner strip connected at theirupper edges by an arcuate bight portion, the heights of said stripsbeing equal, the bottom edges of said strips being sewed together and tosaid edge of the opening in the garment, both said strips being ofrectangular shape and the same size, the ends of said strips beingsubstantially equally spaced from the edges of the garment and spacedfrom each other, a tab of generally rectangular configuration integrallywoven to each end of the inner strip and extending therefrom to an edgeof the garment, the bottom edge of each tab being aligned with thebottom edge of the neck band and sewed to said edge of the opening inthe garment, the top edge of each tab being spaced below the top edge ofthe neck band, one tab overlapping the other tab, releasable meanssecuring the overlapping portions of said tabs together, an elongatedsubstantially rectangular clerical collar composed of a strip of stiltbut flexible material, said collar being considerably longer than thespace between the ends of said strips, the height of said collar beingless than the height of said neck band but greater than the height ofsaid tabs, the ends of said collar extending into the space between saidouter and inner strips, the central portion of said collar beingimpressed with a pattern to simulate linen and completely covering saidtabs and the releasable means securing said tabs, said collar beingimperforate and maintained in position by friction only, the ends ofsaid collar being tapered so as to facilitate the insertion of same intothe space between said strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

